Italy's Lack of Top Striking Talent a Concern for Euro 2016
“We don’t have strikers used to playing at the top level, used to handling the pressure. People like Inzaghi, Del Piero, Totti or like me. That’s depressing.” To an extent, it’s difficult to disagree with Luca Toni’s comments on Italy’s current striking predicament. Gone are the days of Roberto Baggio, Christian Vieri and the players Toni mentioned, with the current options available to Antonio Conte lacking the natural attacking talent of previous incumbents.
It’s indeed a concern for the former Juventus manager ahead of the summer’s European Championships, with preparations kick-starting on Thursday with a meeting with Spain in a repeat of the 2012 final. With Conte expected to deploy a three-man attack having experimented with a 4-4-2 formation, the 46-year-old can call on Graziano Pelle, Eder, Simone Zaza or Stefano Okaka as the primary attacking threat, with the former the favourite to start on Thursday night.
The Southampton striker is at long last back among the goals having previously gone 12 league games without netting in the Premier League. Three goals and two assists in wins over Stoke and Liverpool, landing successive WhoScored man of the match awards in the process, will come as a relief to Conte. Pelle, though, often has these bursts of goalscoring form before reverting to his inconsistent type. 21 league goals in 63 appearances equating to one goal every three games for Southampton is a commendable if unspectacular return for a frontman, particularly one hoping to spearhead the Azzurri’s charge for international glory this summer.
Indeed, a conversion rate of just 12.5% in the Premier League this season is not one to strike fear into the hearts of opposition defences, particularly at international level where goalscoring chances can come at a premium. Eder, Zaza and Okaka don’t exactly instill confidence either. Granted, Eder has a commendable 12 league goals to his name this season, but his move to Inter has been thoroughly underwhelming thus far.
With no goals from 8 appearances for the 29-year-old since his January switch, Eder's blistering early season form has tailed off dramatically. Zaza has been forced to compete for a starting spot with Paulo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic and Alvaro Morata for Juventus and is, at present, fighting a losing battle. A league goal every 112.3 minutes is an impressive return, but a lack of regular game time could perhaps hinder his chances of a place at Euro 2016, while Okaka’s indifferent Europa League form for Anderlecht - two goals in 10 appearances - hardly warrants a place in the national team, no matter how effective he has been in the Jupiler League.
Quality options beyond the four strikers in the current squad are thin on the ground also, with Ciro Immobile struggling following his return to Torino, Manolo Gabbiadini understandably failing to usurp Gonzalo Higuain in the Napoli starting XI and Fabio Quagliarella and Alessandro Matri both the wrong side of 30. It’s a selection headache for Conte, of that there is no doubt, and not the kind he welcomes.
There are no out-and-out world class forwards currently available to Conte, which is a shame for Italy given the raft of supporting talent at the manager’s disposal. Conte can call on the likes of Lorenzo Insigne, Stephan El Shaarawy, Federico Bernardesci, Antonio Candreva, Domenico Berardi and Sebastian Giovinco if he opts for a three-man frontline, but all are better suited to a support or wide role to a classic number nine, with the likes of Marco Verratti, Claudio Marchisio, Roberto Soriano and Giacomo Bonaventura in deeper positions to help support the offensive.
However, while the chances will be created given the talent of the squad, the strikers perhaps lack the required composure, consistency and - in Zaza’s case - match sharpness to really make an impact in front of goal at Euro 2016. Conte’s selections will be put to the test when Italy take on Spain at the Stadio Communale Friuli on Thursday evening, but finding a way past Vicente Del Bosque’s side could prove to be too tough a test for the Azzurri on home turf.
La Roja have not shipped a goal since Johan Venegas netted the opener in Spain’s 2-1 win over Costa Rica last June, a run of 623 minutes without conceding. Conte needs to quickly figure out his best system with the players available to him, but more so; hope the strikers at his disposal can rediscover or at least maintain their good form. Pelle is finally back among the goals, but Italy can’t solely rely on the Southampton striker as a means of firing the national team to glory. Eder, meanwhile, needs to get back among the goals for Inter, while the hope is Zaza can gain more minutes for Juventus between now and the end of the season.
Toni’s statement may have ruffled a few feathers, particularly in the build up to the Euros, but his comments ring true. The lack of top class striking quality in and around the Italy squad is likely to affect the Azzurri in their quest to secure only their second European Championship.
Do Italy have sufficient striking power to secure European Championship glory in France this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
